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Will RIM’s name change boost its stock?

How 9 other companies fared after changing their ticker symbols

By

IanSalisbury

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What’s in a ticker symbol? Would a stock by any other name sell as sweet? Research in Motion is betting a new moniker will help reverse its fortunes. This week, in addition to unveiling the new “re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented” BlackBerry 10, the struggling Canadian tech company announced it’s changing its corporate name to Blackberry and its U.S. stock trading symbol from RIMM
US:RIMM
to BBRY. Is the cutesy ticker overkill? Maybe. But Research in Motion — ahem, Blackberry — certainly isn’t the first to try the gambit. And at least some academic research backs up the idea it can work. One study by researchers at Pomona College found stocks with “clever” tickers posted average annual returns roughly double the rest of the market between 1984 and 2005. (The authors themselves found it difficult to fully explain such a big gap.) Here’s how some prominent brands fared in the 12 months after their own ticker makeovers. — By Ian Salisbury

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1. Citibank

The ticker C became available to Citigroup after Chrysler was acquired by Daimler-Benz. One-letter symbols have long been coveted because back in the day they were possessed only by the biggest, most heavily traded names on the stock exchange. U.S. Steel, for instance, has long changed hands under X. A year after Citigroup’s switch, the stock was still a Wall Street darling, jumping to $57 from $50.

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2. Hewlett-Packard

The computer maker, then led by the charismatic and controversial Carly Fiorina, changed its market handle three days after acquiring rival Compaq in 2002. The merger didn’t turn out as well as planned. After one year, the stock had slid 9%. Fiorina was out by 2005.

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3. AT&T

When baby bell SBC Communications acquired its former parent in 2005, executives decided to adopt Ma Bell’s old name — and its coveted single-letter ticker symbol, T. The move wasn’t considered a no-brainer, as AT&T’s brand had been tarnished by missteps as it navigated from a landline world to a wireless one. But SBC’s move proved wise. In 2006, the stock was up more than a third. See: SBC Decides to Stick With AT&T Brand Name

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4. Harley-Davidson

To many, HDI sounds more like the company that runs your office phone network than the one that helps you release your inner Hells Angel. The execs at Harley-Davidson agreed. Their solution: HOG. The move, made in 2006, failed to rev up Harley’s stock price, which was down about 8% a year later.

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5. Macy’s

Federated Department Stores changed its name to Macy’s and adopted the M symbol in 2007. The company’s preference for Macy’s — a New York brand — wasn’t shared by all its customers. Some shoppers in cities like Chicago, who had grown up with Marshall Fields, and Boston, who’d always had Filene’s, felt slighted as these brands were phased out, according to news reports at the time. Timing — the move turned out to be on the eve of the financial crisis — also didn’t help. The stock tumbled 40% over the next 12 months.

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6. Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, a video game company known for titles like Madden NFL, shortened its stock symbol to match its “EA” logo in late 2011. Evidently, hitting the Reset button didn’t help. The stock tumbled from $21 to less than $14 a year later. (It’s currently about $16).

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7. Craft Brew Alliance

The former Redhook Brewery changed its name, then its ticker symbol, amid combinations with Widmer Brothers Brewing and Kona Brewing Co. Trading at about $7.70 when the company announced the rebranding in March, the stock is currently worth less than $6.

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8. Santander

The only mystery behind this ticker symbol change: Why the company, which listed U.S. shares in 1987, didn’t do it sooner. Spanish pox, no way. After abandoning a ticker that sounded like a venereal disease, the stock jumped by roughly a third.

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9. Mondelez

Kraft Foods renamed itself Mondelez and changed its ticker. It also spun off its North American grocery business, Kraft Foods Group, which trades under KRFT. The former parent’s new name, a combination of “monde,” which means world, and “delez,” an expression for delicious, was panned by many critics. (See “Kraft’s name change to Mondelez leaves experts guessing” and “Mondelez, Kraft’s new name, elicits jokes from all corners”.) But investors seem to think differently. The stock stock has edged up roughly $1 to $28 since the change. See: Kraft’s Name Change to Mondelez Leaves Experts Guessing and Mondelez, Kraft’s New Name, Elicits Jokes From All Corners

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